Gemini Duo 2200 Multisport Front Light

The Gemini Duo 2200 Multisport Front Light is a powerful offering that is good enough for use on the trails and for lighting your way on the road. It really pumps out the lumens, all from a comparatively small head unit, although the fact that the battery pack is quite bulky might put some off.

You can divide lights into those designed to be seen and those for seeing with. This Gemini is firmly in the latter category, pumping out 2,200 lumens, which is more than enough to light even the roughest off-road trail.

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All of this is done through a small unit that can be attached to your bar, your helmet, or even worn on a head strap. As the name suggests, this light has a variety of uses – I even found myself using it while crawling around under the floorboards during the review period. Gemini is quick to highlight that this isn't simply a bike light but is very much designed for multiple sports.

Rather than relying on an internal battery the Gemini has a separate battery pack, which is about half the size of a pack of cards. I used the included Velcro strap to hold it in place underneath my stem, which kept it out of the way, although it is a bit bulky. Finding the ideal spot is made a little more complex by the wire, which is only around 12 inches long and needs to be connected to the light without being permanently strapped to the frame.

This also made it less appealing to use mounted on a helmet. Although the head/light unit itself isn't hugely heavy, the length of the lead means the battery has to sit on the helmet too (you can't store it in a pocket, for example). The weight of the battery isn't enough to give you neckache, but you certainly notice it. You can buy an extension cable for around a tenner, which gives you an extra 70cm to play with, so you could keep the battery in a bag or a jersey pocket.

Attaching the light to the handlebar is done through a simple rubber loop that sits on hooks either side of the head unit. I found that this kept the light in place over rough surfaces and it never threatened to come loose. All good there!

With the battery, the entire unit comes in at 253g – not light, but still lighter than some powerful integrated lights such as the Exposure MaXx-D MK11, which pumps out more lumens (3,300) but weighs 80g more (and costs another £155).

Modes and run-times

Battery life is impressive: 2 hours for the maximum 2,200-lumen solid beam, 4.5hrs for medium (1,100 lumens), and 22 for low (220 lumens). Out of the box there is perhaps a little too much disparity between the medium and low settings, but handily you can reprogram the modes using the single button on the back, so you could pump up the output on low or lower the output on medium, for example. All the modes are programmable with 10 different brightness levels; it takes a little bit of practice to get it right, but after a few attempts it's relatively simple.

There are also two flash modes, with run-times of 4 hours on the maximum output flash and 21.5 hours for the lowest setting.

Changing modes is done in one of two ways: either pressing the one button on the back for different lengths of time, or using the included remote. The remote is a really neat feature as it allows you to not only shift through the modes, but also lets you dip your light, something that is necessary on the road given the power of this thing.

The remote is simple to connect – you just need to press the buttons on the remote within 30 seconds of connecting the battery to the light.

Performance

I used the light almost exclusively for road riding and found it more than adequate for most situations. The beam pattern is pretty much a perfect circle in front of you; it means you can see what's exactly in front from far off, but you perhaps don't see as much laterally as with some other lights. Personally, I didn't feel I was missing much compared to when using a wider beam; I found that I could cycle faster with more confidence because I could see further – I could see potholes coming up with more than enough time to adjust, for instance – though I was aware that there are no side windows to help with visibility at junctions or with vehicles approaching from the side.

I didn't really use it too much off-road, but I can see this working just as well for gravel or even mountain biking in the dark. I'd suggest saving the helmet mount for riding off-road and on gravel because it's easy to dazzle other road users with powerful helmet-mounted lights.

Like many, the single button on the back of the light also works as a battery level indicator through a coloured LED that goes through green, amber and red. On the battery pack itself five LEDS indicate the level of charge, to give you a little more accuracy.

Charging is done through a USB to USB-C cable and takes around five hours from empty when plugged into the wall, longer through a laptop.

When it's not being used to power your lights, you can use the battery to charge your devices using a USB-C cable.

Value and conclusion

An RRP of £229.99 is a lot of money for a bike light, of course. The Gemini Duo 2200 Multisport does have a multitude of uses, though, which goes some way to justifying that price. You can also pay more – a quick look at this year's beam comparison shows a few Exposures that are more expensive (the Strada SL is the closest in price at £210, with a max output of 900 lumens), and the Lumicycle Apogee is £419.99.

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Overall, there is no doubt that this is a more than powerful enough light for a multitude of uses, and the remote works brilliantly. The fact that the head unit and the battery are separate makes mounting a little more complicated than with a self-contained light but this is still a strong proposition.

Verdict

Powerful, durable light with a multitude of uses, though the separate battery adds complexity